stages
By yi-ching lin
Tags: death, dslr, grief, Kübler-Ross, lily magnolia, loss, magnolia, photo, photograph, photography, photos, pictures, poetry, random, stages, stages of grief, writing
struggling to be touched…
yi-ching lin photography
waking up new (daily posts since 2010)
yi-ching lin photography 
the clinicians like to line up
grief into stages, spotlighting
each searing script in the
wringing hands of our
alternate characters. but
even magnolias know
that there is no neat
progression – it is a minor
chaos to feel so
isolated and reflective, to
shuffle denial like a deck
of collectible cards,
to bargain with
acceptance, to gather all
the stages of
flowering
onto one single
branch and struggle
to be touched,
altogether
and again,
by the morning light
.
20100406:2150
y
Stunning photograph! I just think you summed up grief in a poem. Love it.
thank you – if you’ve been following along with the lily magnolias like i have – 3/31, 4/5, and 4/6 (today) – you’ll notice how fast they are blossoming! it reminds me of denial the most. like…but why are you blooming? maybe a little rhetorical anger, too (sheepish smile).
When I first opened the page I said to myself out loud (and I usually never do) “awww” and when I read your poem I just read it over and over. This is so beautiful and fragile.. Kind of bittersweet..
awww, thank you so much! (smile) do you have magnolias over there? hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Yes, we do, but it’s not very common. If I ever get a garden I will have one, cause they’re so beautiful…
wow! we have very similar photos, kinda crazy!
Your poems are great!!!
thank you! you’re right, very cool. thank you for visiting.